Batavia football's Strittmatter keeps his recruiting options open

Batavia All-state football receiver Zach Strittmatter is still keeping his recruiting options open, with an emphasis on elite academic schools on the East Coast.

Strittmatter, ranked No. 1 academically in Batavia’s senior class, plans to make college visits in the coming weeks, and a handful of Ivy League and Patriot League schools are among his potential destinations.

“You can’t find the Division I football with the high academics around here as a Princeton or Georgetown,” Strittmatter said. “There’s the high academic schools like [Washington University in St. Louis], but then that’s Division III football, so it’s like the perfect combination of football and academics out there.”

The 6-foot-4 Strittmatter had 52 receptions for 798 yards with 13 touchdowns as a senior for the Bulldogs, helping Batavia to its second straight undefeated regular season.

Georgetown is an attractive possibility for Strittmatter partially because he has a grandmother who lives in the Washington, D.C. area. Princeton and Lafayette are among the other leading possibilities.

Strittmatter is also considering some Division III programs, and is not ruling out attending a larger school, such as Northwestern or Vanderbilt, and not playing college football.

He said he’s enjoying being recruited.

“You dream of going to these schools when you’re young and to finally hear from them, and then it’s like ‘Wow, I didn’t know I could play college football there,’ it’s been kind of cool,” Strittmatter said. “It’s a little bit stressful with everyone calling you. Some nights it feels like I get 40 phone calls in one night, but it’s worth it, I think.”

While many second-semester seniors look forward to a less burdensome academic load, Strittmatter is not slowing down. He has four AP classes lined up: chemistry, physics, calculus and government.

Strittmatter, who is considering majoring in chemistry in college, is proud of his ascent to the top of the class at Batavia, saying high academic achievement is “something my parents have preached with me since middle school.”

“I guess it is kind of a goal,” Strittmatter said. “You want to be at the top, and obviously these opportunities for schools that want me to play football there, it’s kind of cool now.”

Strittmatter called it “a big relief” when he recently completed his college applications ahead of the Dec. 31 deadlines.

His windows of time to take college visits are limited this time of year since he is also a starting forward for the Batavia basketball team. Strittmatter and the Bulldogs have a marquee home game on tap Friday against rival Geneva, which defeated Batavia when the teams met earlier this
season.

“I’m excited for the game,” Strittmatter said. “We’re kind of on a roll now. We’ve won five of our last six, so I think we have something going here. We’re excited.”

One of Strittmatter’s Batavia football teammates, defensive end Marquise Jenkins, committed last month to play at Winona State (Minn.). Other Bulldogs seniors, such as lineman Adam Hunger and defensive back Robbie Bowman, are also weighing their options.